Six Degrees of Separation
by Tommi Gunn
Summary: Oneshot. Ten years and a lifetime of change later, Dudley Dursley wandered into a shop, not realizing how interconnected the world can be.


Authors Note: This is just something that I whipped up during class today. Reviews are loved, cherished, and knitted Christmas sweaters that only smart people can see. Chapter 2 of An Unexpected Party will be up no later than Thursday. In it, Hermione and Dudley play video games, Snape stalks the Dursley House, and Harry spends his birthday pretending not to exist. I was going to finish it tonight, but I have a 5 page research paper to complete so this is all that you get.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything and I'm not making any money off of this.

"Daddy! Daddy, look at this!" Elizabeth Dursley exclaimed, running up and thrusting a large, stuffed…something into Dudley's face that looked like a cross between a ram and a bear.

"What is it, sweetheart?" He asked curiously, tucking the books he wanted underneath his arm. The little girl shrugged.

"I dunno." She said, still looking up hopefully.

"I'll tell you what, if you can find out what it is, I'll let you get it." Dudley said. Elizabeth grinned happily, taking off towards the back of the bookshop where she had found it. Dudley smiled fondly as he watched her go. She looked so much like her mother it was like a physical ache in his chest when he looked at her. It amazed him how fast his life could fall apart. He was only twenty seven and he was already an orphan and a widower, and he knew that he would rather die than lose his only daughter. He turned and headed up towards the counter, where a white haired young woman had her nose in a newspaper and her feet propped up on a stack of magazines.

"They've gotten it wrong again." She sighed, tossing the paper aside. Her face lit up upon seeing the stuffed animal. "I see you're interested in the Crumple-Horned Snorkack! We've sold so few, Evan was thinking about taking them off display. They're my favorite, you know."

Dudley smiled at her enthusiasm. "Is that what they are? My daughter, Elizabeth, saw it and thought it was cute."

The girl began totaling up the books. "She would think them less cute if she knew what they could do. In fact, we're still rebuilding the house from when the last horn we had explod." Dudley gave the girl a double take, but she didn't seem to notice the bombshell she had just dropped. "Thank goodness Evan let us move Quibbler production out here until we are finished. Without him we would have gone under."

"The Quibbler?" Dudley asked. The girl pulled the stack of magazines up onto the counter.

"We print everything that The Daily Prophet is too scared to admit." She told him proudly. "Would you like a copy?"

"The Daily Prophet?" Dudley felt that he was missing some key information in this conversation. The girl looked disappointed.

"You're a muggle, aren't you?" She asked. "I should have known. And you probably don't have a grindylow infestation either." She gestured sadly to one of the books he was buying, old and leather-bound, with grotesque illustrations on the front cover.

"I'm working on my dissertation." Dudley told her. "It is on the historical roots of urban myths. A friend of mine recommended this place for research resources."

"But you're still a muggle." The girl said. She snatched the stack of magazines off the counter and put them out of sight. Dudley frowned at her. He had definitely heard the word 'muggle' before, he just wasn't entirely sure where.

"Daddy! Daddy, I found it!" Elizabeth cried, rushing up with a thick, heavy book in her hands. "It is called an Erumpent!"

"Well then, I guess that we'll have to get it." Dudley caught the six year old as she all but charged into him. "We'll get this book too, and can you throw in a copy of that magazine? It might help with my research."

"Sure thing. You've got good taste in reading, for a muggle." She said as she passed him the sack of books. "Have a nice day, sir."

"Thanks, you too." He answered, turning towards the door. After a moment's hesitation, he turned back. "I'm sorry, Miss, I never asked you your name."

The girl smiled kindly at him. "It's Luna. Luna Lovegood."

"It was nice to meet you, Luna Lovegood."


End file.
